On day 19 of #TransLoveNov, I send my love to my brown bois. In March 2013, I got to be part of a cohort of brown bois participating in the Brown Boi Project's Leadership Retreat. My life was changed forever that week on. I found a space where for the first time in my almost-32-years-by-then life I felt whole and loved in that wholeness. I found another family. And I found purpose. That week is single-handedly responsible for me deciding to investigate transmasculine college students' conceptualizations of masculinity. Some days, being a brown boi and being a part of the Brown Boi Project is really hard for all kinds of reasons. But I am not alone in that hard place, I am among many committed to radically changing our worlds and our ways of being.

About that asterisk: This website uses the asterisk (*) as a linguistic disruption of sorts that shifts the meaning of words to intentionally reference from a trans perspective (e.g., trans*form). In most cases, it is not used after the word "trans" as is becoming common in many spaces (see this article for an explanation of the etymology and meaning of trans*), except when directly cited or is part of an already published piece. This is to honor the ongoing discussions and tensions amongst trans communities regarding the use/misuse of the asterisk. See, the following three articles to learn about some of these discussions and tensions: by Julia Serano, by the Trans Student Educational Resources, and by Practical Androgyny.